No.
The duty is to have measures against bullying and to set them out in the behaviour policy — statute says that much. What bullying means for your policy, and how the school responds, is decided by your school. DfE says so in terms, and says there is no single model that fits every school. So a definition someone found in a training deck is not binding on you; the one in your behaviour policy is.
updated 9 Jul 2026last checked 17 Sept 2026
What the source actually says
The duty itself is statutory, and lands on the school:
“Section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 provides that maintained schools must have measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. These measures should be part of the school’s behaviour policy which must be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents.”
— Preventing and tackling bullying, DfE advice, July 2017, p.5 DfE
The definition, and the response, are not:
“However a school chooses to define bullying for the purposes of its own behaviour policy, it should be clearly communicated and understood by pupils, parents, and staff.”
— Preventing and tackling bullying, DfE advice, July 2017, p.10, “Dealing with bullying” DfE
“School staff, headteachers and governors are best placed to decide how best to respond to the particular issues that affect their pupils. There is no single solution to bullying which will suit all schools.”
— Preventing and tackling bullying, DfE advice, July 2017, p.10, “Dealing with bullying” DfE
Two things worth knowing about that document. It is advice, not statutory guidance — the body text is dated July 2017 and was republished on gov.uk in 2026 — and the statutory wording it quotes is what actually binds. And the duty is not identical everywhere: the maintained-school “must have measures” above sits alongside a differently worded standard for academies, which the same advice describes as preventing bullying “in so far as reasonably practicable” under the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (p.5).
Your school may still require it
Your school can adopt a detailed definition, a fixed escalation route and a required form of words for talking to parents, and can require you to apply them consistently. That is your school’s policy choice — which is exactly what the law leaves it to make.
See also Do I have to record every bullying incident? and Do I get a say before the behaviour policy changes?.